Learn sendevent

Use this action to learn the sendevent command for a button on your remote. Sending key commands like UP, DOWN, and HOME over ADB can be slow, because the Android input command behind them is slow. The Android sendevent command is faster, but it is device-specific. This action learns the matching sendevent command so you can reuse it with the ADB command action.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To learn a command from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the Android or Fire TV device you want to control.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Learn sendevent.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

This action has no additional options in the UI.

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as androidtv.learn_sendevent. A basic example looks like this:

action: androidtv.learn_sendevent
target:
  entity_id: media_player.fire_tv_living_room

After you run the action, press a single button on your remote within 8 seconds.

Targets of the action

This action requires a target. The target is the object of the action. You can point the action at a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label, and Home Assistant will run the action on every matching media_player entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific media_player entity, such as media_player.living_room.
• Device: every media_player entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every media_player entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every media_player entity on a floor.
• Label: every media_player entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one action. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same action to run the action on both of them at once.

Good to know

• After you run the action, press a single button on your remote within 8 seconds.
• After 8 seconds, a notification appears with the equivalent command you can send through the ADB command action. The same command is stored in the adb_response attribute of the media player entity and logged at the info level.
• Replace a slow command: UP with the learned sendevent command to make remote actions respond faster.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

• ADB command: Sends a key command or ADB shell command to an Android or Fire TV device.